Automobile bumper



Nov. 15, 1927. 1 1,649,301

E. P. GALASSI AUTOMOBILE BUMPER Filed April '7. 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1VENTOR W BY ATTORNEY 5 Nov. 15, 1927.

E. P. GALASSI AUTOMOBILE BUMPER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 7. 1926ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 15, 1927. EJ i iiTEE fiTATfES PATENT GFFlQE.v

ERNEST P. GALASSI, OE BROOKLYN, HEW YOR-K, A SSIG-I-IOR- 0F GA E-HAL]?TO GAETANO NOVELLG, GE NEW YORK, N. Y.

AUTOMGBILE BUMPER.

Application filed April 7, 1926. Serial No. 100,212.

My invention is a bumper or fender de- Figure 7 is a front view of thebumper signed for use. more particularly, on auto- Shown in Figure 6. I

J; e mobiles at the front or the rear thereof, r01 Figure 8 is anenlarged detail in plan reducing the shock incidental to a collisionView of a part of a goose neck on the and thereby minimize the mgury orbreakchassis illustrating means for the attachment 60 of one of thespring members.

age of parts.

The invention may be embodied in dif- Figure 9 is an enlarged crosssection on ferent constructional forms, wherein spring the line 99 of Flgure 8; members are associated together for yield- Figure 10 is ahorizontal section on the ing movement under the shock. The bumper linei0-l0 of Figure 7. 65 as an entirety is attachable to the forward Figurell is a perspective view of an end part of the chassis by devices actingefiiportion of one of the spring members. ciently to support said bumperin an opera- Figure 12 is a perspective view of one part rive position,and adjacent to the attachof'the Central c p 15 ment to said chassis,the members of the My multi-part spring bumper of Figures bumperstructure are formed into compound 1 to 5, inclusive, comprises alongitudinal springs yieldable in a sidewise direction, as spring bar A,two rearwardly positioned well as in a fore and aft direction of thespring members B, C, and complemental vehicle, whereby the liability offracture or spring members D, E. The springs B, C,

breakage is minimized at the attachment to are the rear members of thebumper structhe chassis. ture, for the reason that they are positionedThe several spring members are retained in the horizontal plane ofmember A, rearin operative positions relatively to each other wardlythereof, and, furthermore, said by clips of separable constructions witha members 3, C, areadapted for attachment iew to effecting a variationin the resistance to the forward ends of the chassis, the

capacity of the bumper to resist shock. goose necks of which areindicated at F.

Thus, the separable clips provide for the The front spring member A is asingle assemblage of a given number of spring continuous bar which iscurved lengthwise members, say three, in order to produce a to a certainextent, morev especially toward light simple structure adapt-ed for manuthe ends, at. which the curvature is more facture economically anddesigned for use pronounced than at the middle part. Each moreespecially on comparatively light end of the spring bar A is pointed, ata, see

weight cars; but at the same time, said sepu- Figures 2 and 7, but thisis immaterial. rable clips provide for the assemblage of a Therearwardly positioned spring memgreater number of spring members, say abers B, C, extend individually from the i 1 total of five parts, wherebyto increase the middle part of the front member A to the resistancecapacity to shock and adapt the chassis F, said spring members B, 0,being structure for use on larger and heavier auto each curvedsubstantially as shown in Figmobiles. v ures l, 5, 6, 10. Each springmember B or Other fi'mctions and advantages of the in- C isamulti-curved bar or plate, each n1e1nvention will appear from thefollowing deher having, at the portion rearwardly of scription taken inconnection with the draw the middle part of the front member, a.proings, Whereinnounced curvature at b'for a part of the Figure 1 is aplan view of a five-part length and a reversed curvature at 0 for sp ingbumper embodying my invention. another part of the len th, the extremityof Figure 2 is a front elevation thereof. the curved length 6 being bentmore or less Figure 3 is a vertical cross section on the abruptly toproduce a short arm cl, the latter lined-3 of Figure 1. extending in astraight line and projecting Figure 4: is a similar cross section on theat an angle to the curved length 6, see Figline 4-4 of Figure 1. ures 5and 10. From the curved length 0, 105 Figure 5 is an enlarged detailhorizontal each member B or C is bowed to a point section on the line5-5 of Figure 2. beyond the end of the front member A, and Figure 6 is aplan view of a three-part then said member B or.@ is doubled backspringbumper included within my invenwardly at e, the doubled length f beingcurved at to extend around the front ention.

tremity of the chassis F, see Figuresl and (3, and finally this doubledpart 7, f, is bent into an attaching arm 9, Figure 11, which isconstructed for engagement with the channeled face of the chassis, seeFigures 8, 9 and 11. Said arm 9 is slit inwardly from its top edge, andthe metal is bent to produce a lip g, and similarly the arm is slitinwardly from the bottom ed e to produce a lip 9 see Figures 8, 9 and11, said lips g, 9 being spaced for an appreciable interval and being indisalined relation considered lengthwise of the arm 9. The arm 9 of thespring member is adapted to be applied against the inner face of thechanneled and flanged chassis, and said lips g, 9 of the arm are fittedinto engagement with the flange of said channeled chassis, for one lipto lie on one side of the flange and the other lip to lie on theopposite side of the flange. The arms 9 of the respective spring membersB, C, are attached fixedly to the chassis for supporting the bumperstructure in the required position at the front of the automobile,although said attachment permits, also, a limited adjustment relativelyto the chassis for the purpose of positioning the bumper at the requiredheight. The attachment of the arm 9 of each spring B or C to the chassisis effected by placing the arm 9 against the inner channeled face of thechas sis for the lugs g, 9 to extend respectively above and below thelower flange of said chassis, and by the employment of plate members G,H, and suitable bolts. The plate G is a straight bar with an angular endit, said end 7L being provided with a acres of transverse bolt holes,one shown at h in Figures 3 and i. The arm 9 of the spring member liesbetween the channeled face of the chassis and the long part of the plateG, and this plate is fastened to the chassis and to the spring arm g bybolts 2', 2', said bolt 1' passing through plate G, spring arm g, andthe chassis, whereas the bolt 27 passes through the end part of thechassis, the arm /L of plate G, and the arm 9 of the spring member.Another bolt 71 passes through the arm 9 and the plate G close to thepoint where arm It extends downwardly from plate G, see Figures 3 and i.The plate G is on the inner side of the chassis along with the arm 9 ofthe spring member, but .the other plate H is fitted against the outerside of the chassis F, said outer plate H having an opening throughwhich passes the bolt 2', and said outer plate having a lip 7L fittingover a part of the chassis to assist in retaining the plate in position.The bolts i, 2', 2' fasten the parts 9, G, H, fixedly to the chassis,but the holes it in the plate G permit a limited adjustment of thespring 9 in order to attach the bumper at the required height, the lipsg, g, of said spring arm having a certain amount of play relatively tothe flange of the channeled chassis.

Referring now to the construction at the middle part of the bumper, themembers 13, C, are arranged reversely to each other, i. e.,' they extendin opposite directions from t 1e middle part of the front member A, andthe short straight arms (Z of members B, C, extend in oppositedirections to each other, one to the right and the other to the leftfrom the said middle part of member A, see Figures 5 and 10. These arms(Z, d, of members B, C, have direct contact or bearing engagement withthe rear face of front member r at the middle part thereof, and saidarms (Z, (Z, at the inner ends of the half springs or members i, C, arecoupled fixedly to the member A, said coupling means being employed forthe attachment, also, of the middle part of spring members D, E, whenthe bumper is constructed with parts D, E, in addition to parts A, B, C,as in Figures 1 to 5, inclusive.

Said coupling means is a front plate I, a rear plate J, and a number ofbolts The front plate I is positioned vertically to extend across thespring member A, and part way across the spring members D, E, at themiddle of said members, see Figures 1, 2, 3 and 5. The rear couplingplate J is of the slotted formation shown in Figure 12, having theenlarged middle parts j provided with bolt holes j the wide long slot 7'accommodating the bent arms (Z, (Z, of the rear spring members 13, C,see Figure 5. The coupling plate J is arched or curved to conformapproximately to the form of the members A, B, C, D, E, when members D,E, are used, and said plate J is fitted against the rear faces ofmembers A, D, E, the bent ends (Z, (Z, of members B, C, passing into theslot j and being confined against the rear of spring A and the end barsof slotted plate J, see igure The bolts j pass through front plate I andspring members D, E, and rear plate J, said bolts acting to forciblyclamp the parts together and to retain the inner bent arms (Z, (Z, ofthe members B, C, in fixed relation to plates 1, J, and to spring memberA and to retain said ends (Z in similar relation to the spring membersD,E.

It will be noted that the coupling plat-es I, J, are attached fixedly bybolts j to the spring members D, E, and are frictionally engaged withspring members A, B, C, for clamping the several members at the middlepart thereof, but to retain the end portions of members D, E, in therequired relation to the spring members B, C, I make use of clips shownin Figures 1, E2 and 4 of the drawings. Two of these clips K are used,one near each end portion of spring members D, E, and these clips areattached to members D, E, and engage frictionally with members B, C, thepoints of engagement with members B, C, being intermediate the curvaturec and loop 6, see Figure 1. Each clip comprises complement-a1 plates K,L, and bolts 70, one plate K being fitted against the front faces ofsprings D, E, and B or C, and the other plate beingin contact with therear faces of springs D, E, and B or C, as the case maybe. The bolts kpass through frontplate K, springs D, E, and rear plate L, but they arenot directly attached to springs B or C, the latter passing between theplates K, L, and the parts being held frictionally by tightening up onthe bolts k. coupling the springs D, E, to springs B or C, respectivelybut these clips do not have engagement with the front spring member A,the latter being coupled at its middle portion to the parts B, C, D, E,Whereas the end parts of said front spring member extend across theclips and are in contact frictionally with the springs B, C,respectively.

The bumper comprising the spring members A, B, C, D, E, and theirassociated parts afford a structure which by the yielding resistance ofthe spring metal reduces the shock incidental to a collision of thevehicles, but in this connection it is noted that the rear springs B, C,are given the double curvature at f, 7', which permits the bumper as awhole to yield to a sidewise blow, and thus reduce the tendency tofracture of the spring members B, C, when an end portion of the bumperonly is exposed to shock. The bump-er comprising the parts A to E,inclusive, is adapted, more particularly, for larger and heavierautomobiles, but to adapt the bumper for use on smaller and lightercars, it may be desirable to reduce the number of parts by omitting thespring members D, E, the resulting structure being shown in Figures 6, 7and 10. The simplified form of bumper comprises the spring members A, B,C, central coupling I, J, and the described means for V mounting membersB, C, on the chassis; in other words, spring members D, E, and end clipsK, L, are omitted. In this construction, the coupling I, J is retainedas in Figures 6, 7 and 10, for the attachment of bent ends, d, (l, ofspring members B, C, to the middle part of front spring member A, itbeing noted that the bolts j pass through plates I, J, above and belowthe springs A, B, C, for frictiona-lly clamping the inner front ends clof springs B, C, to the middle part of front spring member A.

By reference to Figures 5, 10 and 12, it will be noted that the plate Jof the central coupling is provided with an elongated opening or slot jadapted for the reception of the bent ends (Z of the rear springmembers.

Such slot allows for the adjustment of the rear spring members B, C, inalongitudinal direction for the purpose of mcreasing or decreasing thetotal length of the bumper The clips are thus arranged for to adapt itfor cars the interVa-lsbetween the members F of the chassis may varywithin certain limits. Thus, the spring members B, C, may be shifted tobring the bent ends 65 closer together, for decreasing the span of thebumper, or said members B, C, may be shifted endwisefor separating theends (Z within the limit permitted by the slot f of the coupling plate,thus increasing the span or length of the bumper; but in either case,the coupling plate J co-operates with the plate I a-ndbolts j forfixedly retaining the spring members B, C, in the required positionswith respect to spring member A.

Parts of my invention may be used with out the whole. Thus in somecases, I may uselthe spring members B, C, without using the other springmembers D, E. The members B, C, may obviously be decreased in length byomitting the curved length, I), and apart of 0, in which case eachspring member B or C comprises the arm g, loop 7, bent part 7", the loop6 and a part of I length 0. The rear springs B, C, when used to theexclusion of parts A, D, E, are attachable separately to the part F ofthe chassis so as to afford protection to the chassis, the wheels andthe mud guards.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a bumper, a front spring member,

a plurality of rear spring members each extending from the middle partof the front spring member, the outer end of each rear spring memberbeing free from attachment to the front spring member, means whereby 1the inner ends of said rear spring members are coupled to the frontspring member substantially at the middle part of the latter member, andmeans for attaching said outer ends of the rear spring members to achassis.

2. In a bumper, a front spring member, a. plurality of rear springmembers each extending from the middle part of said front spring member,each rear spring member having its outer end portion free fromattachment to said front spring member and said outer end portion ofeach rear spring member being bent in a direction rearwardly of thefront spring member, means for coupling the inner end portions of therear spring members to the middle portion of the front spring member,and means for coupling to a. chassis said rearwardly bent end portionsof the rear spring members.

3. In a bumper, a. front spring member, a plurality of rear springmembers, each extending from the middle part of the front spring memberand the other end of each lli) llfi

part of the front spring member, and supporting means for attaching thearms of the rear spring members to a vehicle.

e. In a bumper, a front spring member, a. plurality of rear springmembers each having one end doubled backwardly and formed into a loopedarm extending at an angle rearwardly to the bumper, means for couplingthe several spring members at the middle part of the bumper, and meansfor attaching the rearwardly extending arms of the rear spring membersto a vehicle.

5. In a bumper, a front spring member, a plurality of rear springmembers each bent baclrwardly to provide a rearwardly extending arm atthe end of said spring member, means including an apertured plate foradjustably attaching said arm of each rear spring member to a vehicle,and means for coupling the front spring member and the rear springmembers to each other at the middle part of said bumper.

6. In a bumper, a front spring member, a plurailty of rear springmembers each extending from the middle part of the front spring membertoward one end thereof, other spring members above and below thehorizontal plane of the front spring member and the rear spring members,and coupling means whereby all the spring members are retained at themiddle of the bumper in relatively fixed position.

7. In a bumper, a front spring member, a plurality of rear springmembers each extending from the middle part of the front spring membertoward one end thereof, other spring members above and below thehorizontal plane of the front spring member and the rear spring members,said other spring members being curved to extend crosswise of the rearspring members, and conpling means positioned at the middle part of thebumper and co-operable with all the spring members for retaining saidspring members in fixed relation to each other.

8. In a bumper, a front spring member, a plurality of rear springmemberseach extending from the middle part of the front spring member towardone end thereof, other spring members above and below the hori zontalplane of the front spring member and the rear spring members, couplingmeans at the middle part of the bumper for fixedly retaining all thespring members, and other coupling means engageable with the sprinmembers and said other spring members for retaining the end portions ofthe later members in fixed relation to the rear spring members.

9. A bumper embodying a continuous front spring member, a p urality ofrear spring. members each extending from the middle part of the frontspring member, said rear sprin members being in the horizontal plane ofthe front spring member, a plurality of other spring members extendingabove and below the front spring member, coupling means for retainingall the spring members in fixed relation to each other at the middle ofthe bumper, and clips for attaching the end portions of said otherspring members to the rear spring members.

10. In a bumper, a front spring member, a plurality of rear springmembers, and a coupling for attaching the rear spring members to saidfront spring member, said rear spring members being shiftable relativelyto.

the coupling and the front spring member whereby the span of the bumpermay be increased or decreased.

Intestimony whereof I have hereto signed my name this 1st day of April,1926.

ERNEST P; GALASSI.

